Theme Of Violence In Lord Of The Flies Essay

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There is the theme of violence and brutality running throughout the novel Lord of the Flies. It appears very early in the novel in a form of a game when Ralph “machined-gunned Piggy”, and lasts until the very end when Jack and his tribe are trying to kill Ralph. So through Golding’s use of language I am going to analyze the scene which I think is the most frightening moment of violence and brutality in the novel - Simon’s death.
Golding uses imagery to present the boys’ violent and brutal act in killing Simon. “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock. Leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore.” The “beast” here is referred to Simon. Simon is mistaken by the boys as a beast so they beat him up. The boys are so caught up in the beating as they use as many parts of their body they can to exert violence on Simon: verbal violence in “screamed”, the use of fists and hands in “struck, bit”, and teeth in “tore.” This is significant because Simon is killed by the delusion of the boys and he is the most spiritual and kind-hearted amongst these boys so it suggests that the boys in the novel are overwhelmed by violence and savagery that they cannot determine what is good or bad.
The violence and brutality in Simon’s death is also presented as bestial and animalistic. “There were no words, and no movements, but the tearing of teeth and claws.” Word is the mean of communication used by human beings. We can speak, we have languages and words. That’s why we are a higher level than other animals because animals do not talk they only bark, snarl or growl. The phrase “no words” suggests that the boys totally break out of civilization and turning themselves into savage and barbaric creatures. Golding’s use of “teeth and claws” shows how animalistic the boys are because ‘teeth’ and ‘claws’ are often referred to large predators like tigers and lions. The word “tearing” shows the ripping and renting human flesh into pieces makes the incident shocking as the...